Art over a cocktail

GETTING art into bars and cafes, where it can be seen and enjoyed over a cocktail or a cuppa, has become the mission of furniture designer Jennifer Edmunds.

“At gallery openings people just drink the free wine and leave, but in a bar they spend time with the art and get attached to it,” she says.“It’s like being in your own living room. Art in a gallery doesn’t give the same experience.”

Jennifer Edmunds, with her own chair on display at Knightsbridge Penthouse... “Art in a gallery doesn’t give the same experience.” Photo by Silas Brown.

For her venture Wobble, which she started with her friend Vlasta Jeftic last year, Jennifer has so far curated three month-long art shows at Knightsbridge Penthouse in Braddon – each one kicking off with a party.

The third show, Triptych, starts tonight at Knightsbridge Penthouse and will run until August 25, focusing more on digital media in a number of installations around the bar, says Jennifer.

“It’s a great opportunity, as digital art is more like music in its ability to change to the mood of the room,” she says.

“It’s the perfect space for it.”

Jennifer says her aim is to curate a show that will fit in with the design aesthetic of the venue.

“The work has to fit the space and be appropriate for the particular venue and its clientele,” she says.

“I don’t want to recycle the work – if it fits with one venue it may not work in another, plus I want to showcase as many different artists as possible.

“It also allows the venue to stay fresh.”

Jennifer, who’s working on getting new venues on board, studied architecture at UC and went on to do furniture design at ANU, so she says she knows and meets many emerging artists who will benefit from the exposure that the program provides, bringing together paintings, prints, photography, graphic design, furniture and product design.

“There are so many talented artists and designers in Canberra and I wanted to tap into that, and bring art out of galleries,” she says.

“I’m aiming to create an eclectic but specific look in each venue,” she says.

Doors open today at 4pm, Wobble kicks off at 8pm. For more information, visit www.wobble.cc